WASHINGTON — Following President Obama's call Tuesday evening for a return to fiscal responsibility, Republicans responded -- by demanding the country return to a policy of fiscal responsibility.
If that sounds like the two parties are on the same page at last, the GOP's actual message -- expressed most directly by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in the party's official response to Obama's speech -- was that the party was prepared to oppose the president's economic program at almost every turn.
"To solve our current problems, Washington must lead," Jindal said. "But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in the hands of Washington politicians."
Calling for traditional Republican policies of tax cuts, less government involvement and reliance on free markets and individual effort, Jindal said: "The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens."
Jindal and most other Republicans gave a nod to polls showing strong public support for the president on the economy, saying they wanted to work with him on what all agreed was the country's most pressing issue.
But they accused Obama -- and, more pointedly, Democrats in Congress -- of choosing the wrong tactics by backing programs that they said would increase taxes and concentrate power in Washington instead of in private hands.
Emerging from the House chamber where Obama delivered the address, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) was succinct: "Whether it is cap and trade, whether it is cradle-to-grave education, whether it is universal healthcare, the era of big government is here."
The Republicans' attempt to draw a contrast between the two major parties' visions for the country was complicated by Obama's repeated promises to eliminate waste, his assertion that he too favored smaller government, and his pledge to slice the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term.
The difference, Jindal and other Republicans said Tuesday, is that they wanted to spend even less than Democrats, except on defense. And, they said, they won't raise taxes to trim the deficit.
The Louisiana governor, considered a rising star who might run for president in 2012, recently said he may not accept a portion of money in the recent stimulus package set aside for Louisiana.
